b'It is an undisputed fact that my maternal grandmother, Maria, was the best meatball maker in all of Sicily. Every Sunday we would drive from Palermo to Alcamo to visit her, making the two-hour trip on a series of two-lane country roads laced with stomach-churning hairpin curves. In spite of the fact that my brother Mario and I always suffered in the backseat, as my father drove our small Fiat as if it were a Ferrari, we knew that once we arrived, there would be meatballs waiting for us. This recipe, made with sausage meat, is based on her recipe, and it is, to say the least, fantastic! Grandma Maria would be proud!'